1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the type of candy referred to as lollipops, and more particularly, to a portable container for lollipops which container is adapted for insertion therein of a lollipop after it has been partially consumed and which is effective to maintain the sanitary condition of such lollipop while being carried or transported on the person of the consumer.
2. Prior Art
A lollipop may be defined as a hard sucking candy adapted for partial or total placement in the mouth for progressive dissolution due to the action of the liquid portion of the saliva upon the easily soluble body of the candy. Lollipops are usually eaten or consumed either by licking, or alternatively, by total containment in the mouth where the liquid environment causes dissolution of the sugary principal portion of the lollipop into saliva in the mouth. Thereafter, such sugary dissolved portion may be swallowed, providing the user with a sweet taste typical of these candies.
The fact that the principal soluble portion of the lollipop is typically fairly large, and due to the fact that lollipops are frequently consumed by children who lead active lives and thereby move around frequently, means that lollipops are frequently not completely consumed at one straight sitting, or period of time, but are instead frequently sucked on for a short period of time and then laid down while the child engages in some alternative activity, picked up again and sucked for awhile, laid down again and so on, so that the total time taken to consume a lollipop may frequently approach infinity, such because the lollipop is laid down frequently, it either becomes lost or contaminated such that further consumption of such lollipop is no longer desirable, at which time the lollipop will be discarded.
The fact that the lollipop may not be completely consumed is not particularly critical. However, the fact that the lollipop is laid down frequently and during such periods of down time, may become contaminated and thereafter no longer be fit for human consumption can assume a relatively great importance. Perhaps even more important, so far as the parents of children concerned, is the fact that when a lollipop is laid down it tends to contaminate the surface upon which it is placed. For example, it is not uncommon for a child to lay a lollipop down on furniture and painted surfaces which may be damaged by the sticky substance or in other places where either the lollipop itself may be rendered unfit for further consumption or the surface upon which it is laid may be rendered less desirable than it was before, at least to the extent that such surface may require washing to remove the sticky residue derived from the lollipop, and in particularly egregious cases, the contaminated surface may even be detrimentally degenerated by the lollipop residue which may in some cases be sufficiently strong to take off the paint or other coating on the surface or to so contaminate the surface that it can no longer be used for its intended purpose. It is also not uncommon for lollipops to mysteriously show up on chairs or other seating surfaces where such lollipops may be sat or reclined upon, rendering the person who has attempted to sit upon such surface relatively agitated in their demeanor, or worse.
There has been a need, therefore, for rendering a partially-consumed lollipop relatively innocuous and maintaining it in a sanitary condition by isolating it from the environment. Consequently, there has been a need for a means in which a lollipop could be stored during temporary non-use or non-consumption, which storage means would protect such lollipop from the surrounding environment so that it can be safely continued to be consumed or sucked over a period of time and also protecting the surrounding environment from the lollipop so that such surrounding environment, for example, painted or upholstered surfaces, are not detrimentally degraded by coming in contact with such lollipop. So far as the present inventor is aware, there have been no effective lollipop holders heretofore available or, for that matter, even non-effective lollipop holders, particularly for use on the person of the user him or herself.
The inventor is aware of the following patents directed to containers, and capsules such as lockets, ampules and the like for carrying various objects upon the person, but which are not suitable for the purpose for which the Applicant's invention has been developed, e.g. to hold a lollipop. In particular, there has been no lollipop holder by which such lollipop may be secured to the person of the user so that it cannot become lost while it can be taken out and sucked at any time. There have been previous containers made especially for holding sustenance, medical items or items such as chewing gum between uses, but none has been designed particularly, so far as the present inventor is aware, for the storage of lollipops on the person, particularly during active play or the like by children.
The following are examples of prior art disclosures of receptacles used for the containment of various objects other than lollipops, per se, and particularly for the storage between uses of chewing gum.
U.S. Pat. No. 206,017 [Henderson] for "Tobacco-Quid Protector" issued Jul. 16, 1878 discloses a tobacco quid protector including two convex plates hinged together. Apparently, the tobacco was intended to be placed in the protector which had holes in it and then placed in the mouth to become warm and moist before use.
U.S. Pat. No. 603,949 [Harding] for "Receptacle for Chewing Gum" issued May 10, 1898 discloses a cylindrical receptacle for chewing gum. The chewing gum is placed in the receptacle when not being chewed and the receptacle may be attached to the clothing by a pin arrangement. The bottom of the receptacle has a point on which the chewing gum may be impaled and the chewing gum may be removed from the receptacle when it is desired to chew it by opening one side. The pin also keeps the chewing gum centered in the center of the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 969,329 [Blake] for "Gum Box" issued Sep. 6, 1910 discloses a gum box for holding chewing gum. The lower portion of the box apparently holds sticks of unchewed chewing gum and a section at the top of the box holds chewed chewing gum. The box is elongated rectangular in shape, but does not have a small section and a large diameter section.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,040,420 [Roop] for "Receptacle for Chewing Gum" issued Oct. 8, 1912 discloses another receptacle for chewing gum which also has a pin attached to it.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,892 [Keston] for "Chewed Gum Receptacle" issued Oct. 18, 1949 discloses a chewing gum holder formed basically from a flat blank which may be assembled into a box for the chewing gum when it is desired to save some used chewing gum.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,717 [Balch] for "Emergency Survival Capsule" issued Nov. 8, 1966 discloses an emergency survival capsule which may be worn around the neck. The capsule is elongated in shape and may have various objects placed in it such as a flare, matches and the like. The elongated locket or survival capsule does not have two diameter sections and would be easily adaptable to hold a lollipop.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,662 [Volland] for "Used Chewing Gum Storage Receptacle" issued Mar. 14, 1978 discloses a chewing gum receptacle including a base member with several recesses in which chewing gum can be "parked" and a transparent cover which goes over the entire device. The cover may have small figurines on top. The recesses are designed to receive disposable cups with the intent of preventing the chewing gum from sticking to the chewing gum holder. The disposable cups may comprise a portion of an entire liner for the receptacle. It is intended that when the cups become completely full of chewing gum, the whole liner will be disposed of and for this purpose the liner is made of a cheap, readily-replaceable material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,562 [Todd] for "Capsule for Storing Written Information" issued Jun. 8, 1982 discloses a capsule in which written material, and particularly medical records and the like, may be inserted. The capsule is made in two parts which are screw-thread to each other and may be hung around the neck of the user by means of a lanyard through a ring at the top of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,822 [Malancon, Jr.] for "Container and Holder for Dispensing Baking Soda" issued Sep. 8, 1987 discloses a baking soda dispenser in which there is a cap at the top on a biased side and a decreased radius section at the bottom by which the holder may be grasped with the hand. Such decreased-sized bottom also facilitates storage of the baking soda dispenser in an open-bottom bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,807 [Porter, et al.] for "Container for Medicinals" issued Mar. 29, 1988 discloses a container for medicines which may be worn around the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,952 [Hight, et al.] for "Pendant Container for Tablets and Capsules" issued Sep. 19, 1989 discloses a pendant-type container for medicinal tables and capsules. The pendant container is formed of an upper and a lower half which fit together with a snap action which it is said may be readily operated by an incapacitated person. Essentially, a resilient top half is snapped over a ridge on the bottom half. It is claimed that the seal is gas-tight and it may involve the use of an O-ring on one of the halves of the pendant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,658 [Tiramani, et al.] for "Holder for a Personal Razor" issued Aug. 27, 1991 discloses a holder for a personal razor. Such holder has a transverse section at the top which has an opening into a longitudinal section at the bottom which accommodates a handle of a razor while the transverse section at the top accommodates the head of the razor. The top of the storage case opens in a hinged manner and may be snapped shut by means of a snap-type latch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,174 [Hereford] for "Jewelry Container for Cremation Ashes" issued Oct. 27, 1992 discloses a jewelry container adapted to contain cremation ashes. The container is made in the form of a pendant which is held around the neck, presumably of a relative of the deceased. The pendant is longitudinally elongated and has a support ring.
In addition to the above-noted patents, Applicant is also aware of the following patent, an abbreviated disclosure of which is in the possession of Applicant.
U.S. Pat. No. 395,515 [unidentified patentee] for "Chewing-Gum Preserver" issued Jan. 1, 1889 discloses a basically modified ovoid chewing gum locket for storage of already partially masticated chewing gum in a pendant until the owner wishes to recommence chewing of such gum.
While, therefore, there have been containers for carrying on the person various drugs and comestible as well as carrying other types of materials such as chewing gum in various environments, no practical container for carrying lollipops is believed heretofore to have been known.